{"id":199603,"date":"2019-01-28T01:47:32","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T06:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=199603"},"modified":"2019-01-28T01:47:32","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T06:47:32","slug":"rivals-maduro-and-guaido-vie-for-venezuelan-military-backing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/01\/28\/rivals-maduro-and-guaido-vie-for-venezuelan-military-backing\/","title":{"rendered":"Rivals Maduro and Guaido vie for Venezuelan military backing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Addressing soldiers in an appearance on state TV, Maduro asked whether they were plotting with the \u201cimperialist\u201d United States, which he accused of openly leading a coup against him. (File Photo By Tasnim News Agency\/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CARACAS,\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0\u2014 The struggle for control of\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0turned to the military Sunday, with supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido handing leaflets to soldiers detailing a proposed amnesty law that would protect them for helping overthrow President Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Maduro demonstrated his might, wearing tan fatigues at military exercises. Flanked by his top brass, Maduro watched heavy artillery fired into a hillside and boarded an amphibious tank.<\/p>\n

Addressing soldiers in an appearance on state TV, Maduro asked whether they were plotting with the \u201cimperialist\u201d United States, which he accused of openly leading a coup against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, my commander-in-chief,\u201d they shouted in unison, and Maduro responded: \u201cWe’re ready to defend our homeland \u2014 under any circumstance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dueling appeals from the two rivals again put the military centre stage in the global debate over who holds a legitimate claim to power in the South American nation.<\/p>\n

The standoff has plunged troubled\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0into a new chapter of political turmoil that has already left more than two dozen dead as thousands took to the streets demanding Maduro step down. Guaido is calling for two new mass mobilizations over the next week.<\/p>\n

The tumult erupted when Guaido, the 35-year-old leader of\u00a0Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress, declared before masses of supporters last week that he has temporarily assumed presidential powers, vowing to hold free elections and end Maduro’s dictatorship.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump and several foreign leaders quickly recognized Guaido as\u00a0Venezuela’s legitimate leader, prompting Maduro to cut ties with the U.S. and order its diplomats from Caracas within 72 hours. The U.S. defied him, saying Maduro isn’t the legitimate president, and Maduro relented, suspending the deadline for 30 days for the sake of opening a dialogue.<\/p>\n

Venezuela’s crisis came before the U.N. Security Council on Saturday, which took no formal action because of divisions among members. Russia and China back Maduro. But France and Britain joined Spain and Germany in turning up the pressure on Maduro, saying they would recognize Guaido as president unless\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0calls a new presidential election within eight days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do you get that you have the power to establish a deadline or an ultimatum to a sovereign people?\u201d said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza. \u201cIt’s almost childlike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Venezuela’s armed forces remain the key to Maduro’s hold on power, firing tear gas and bullets on protesters, killing more than two dozen since Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Guaido is urging Venezuelans to exit their homes, offices or wherever they may be on Wednesday for a peaceful, two-hour mid-day protest. He is also asking followers to take to the streets again Saturday for demonstrations \u201cin every corner\u201d of the nation and around the globe. That protest is timed to coincide with the European Union deadline for announcing a new election.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re advancing well,\u00a0Venezuela,\u201d Guaido said in his broadcast, streamed live on the internet. \u201cWe’ve restored hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

In light of the ongoing unrest, the Caribbean Professional Baseball Leagues Confederation announced Sunday that organizers decided to not to hold an upcoming tournament in\u00a0Venezuela.\u00a0The Caribbean Series will instead be held at alternate yet-to-be-announced venue. The decision came a day after\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0Sports Minister Pedro Infante made a plea for the series to take place as planned in Barquisimeto, saying the government would guarantee the safety of players.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Guaido’s supporters made their case directly to soldiers, handing them leaflets that urged they reject the socialist leader and explaining how they could be eligible for amnesty if they help return\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0to democracy.<\/p>\n

In Paraiso, an area of Caracas where residents and the National Guard violently clashed, opposition lawmaker Ivlev Silva, his hands raised over his head, walked up to a line of soldiers wearing riot gear and holding shields.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0believe in each one of you,\u201d Silva said, handing them the leaflets. Their commander responded that they were defending the Bolivarian revolution and support Maduro.<\/p>\n

Similar scenes took place at military bases across Caracas, where one soldier burned his leaflet and another man threw a stack of them out a door, rejecting the opposition’s plea.<\/p>\n

In claiming presidential powers, Guaido said he was acting in accordance with two articles of the constitution that give the National Assembly president the right to hold power temporarily and call new elections.<\/p>\n

Emerging from Sunday Mass, where he honoured those killed and arrested in the recent protests, Guaido called on the armed forces not to shoot fellow Venezuelans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are waiting for you and the commitment you have to our constitution,\u201d Guaido said. \u201cDon’t shoot at those who have come out to defend your family, your work and livelihood.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also vowed to crack down on those responsible for the killings, which he called a \u201cmassacre,\u201d saying in a Twitter post that he wanted to bring international attention to members of the armed forces, prosecutors and judges linked to the recent deaths.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has maintained that all options remain open if Maduro refuses to cede leadership, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on \u201cFox News Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think any president of any party who is doing his or her job would be doing the job properly if they took anything off the table,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I think the president of the United States is looking at this extraordinarily closely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Manuel Rueda contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CARACAS,\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0\u2014 The struggle for control of\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0turned to the military Sunday, with supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido handing leaflets to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":197247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-199603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-w","mauthors-scott-smith-and-fabiola-sanchez","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}